Neal

Like a fool, I still jump
from the top of
my lungs.

I fear I may have finally
dissolved
like the honey
I once poured into your tea

my heart crackles with static
as I sit and wonder
how I lost the signal
so soon

Neither of us ever
played the lottery

you, out of respect
for the odds

me, on principle

but it didn’t stop us
from joining in
the dreamy conversations
of the others
on what we would do
or no longer do
if we hit it big

I knew then
I loved you
when you said
the first thing you would buy
was a hot air balloon

so you had something high
to throw all that money
away from

do not focus so hard
on the nest

that you forget that
you have wings.